UK shops have lost the plot: more evidence.
20 June 2013, 07:02 PM
#1
UK shops have lost the plot: more evidence.
Having a few hours to kill in Doncaster today, I spent half an hour walking round the Frenhchgate Centre, a large indoor mall.
Find a Panasonic shop, I went in to enquire about a Lumix camera.
They only had about five Lumix cameras in the shop.
The one I wanted, they had ONE left. It's deleted, superseded, and was in the colour that didn't sell: red.
I asked them to give me a special price for a cash sale there and then.
They came back and asked me for 10% MORE than I can buy the black one at Currys.....
I give up.
Find a Panasonic shop, I went in to enquire about a Lumix camera.
They only had about five Lumix cameras in the shop.
The one I wanted, they had ONE left. It's deleted, superseded, and was in the colour that didn't sell: red.
I asked them to give me a special price for a cash sale there and then.
They came back and asked me for 10% MORE than I can buy the black one at Currys.....
I give up.
20 June 2013, 08:05 PM
#3
My Dad used to go to the Panasonic shop in Cheltenham (it's now closed). He has said that the people were very knowledgeable and enjoyed talking about their tech. They didn't have the stuff in he wanted, but they ordered it in pretty quickly and gave a good price on it all.
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21 June 2013, 02:40 PM
#8
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Yes the only way high street shops going to survive is this plus being able to provide face to face knowledge you're not able to get on tinernet, plus attempt flog you something else related or not into the bargain. ...And hope this covers the rent or not far under it
21 June 2013, 04:07 PM
#10
I went into two cycle shops in the last week. Didn't get approached in either by any salesperson, no hello, no goodbye, nothing.
Needless to say, walked out without buying anything.
The one thing physical retail shops have over buying from the internet is a friendly, helpful, face-to-face presence. If they don't take advantage of that, then why do they expect people not to buy online?
Needless to say, walked out without buying anything.
The one thing physical retail shops have over buying from the internet is a friendly, helpful, face-to-face presence. If they don't take advantage of that, then why do they expect people not to buy online?
21 June 2013, 06:00 PM
#13
What pisses me off about going into shops is they either bug the life out of you to help you when your not sure what you want or when you really want something and need to be out of the shop quick the staff are too busy talking to each other to serve you 
I find its just quicker to order stuff online and have it delivered to your door
I find its just quicker to order stuff online and have it delivered to your door
21 June 2013, 08:25 PM
#15
I went into two cycle shops in the last week. Didn't get approached in either by any salesperson, no hello, no goodbye, nothing.
Needless to say, walked out without buying anything.
The one thing physical retail shops have over buying from the internet is a friendly, helpful, face-to-face presence. If they don't take advantage of that, then why do they expect people not to buy online?
Needless to say, walked out without buying anything.
The one thing physical retail shops have over buying from the internet is a friendly, helpful, face-to-face presence. If they don't take advantage of that, then why do they expect people not to buy online?
). If that isn't good enough for people, then frankly I think they are being unreasonable. What pisses me off about going into shops is they either bug the life out of you to help you when your not sure what you want or when you really want something and need to be out of the shop quick the staff are too busy talking to each other to serve you
I find its just quicker to order stuff online and have it delivered to your door
I find its just quicker to order stuff online and have it delivered to your door
22 June 2013, 12:37 AM
#16
I went to the local (small business) cycle shop just before 5pm, the guy was pulling shutters down. I asked if they were still open to which he replied "if you hurry up". I responded with very clear "go **** yourself" and when to Halfauds. I spent £60 on the bits I needed (for that evening) and will not be returning to that shop.
22 June 2013, 01:14 AM
#17
I would say if they were his exact words, and depending on his tone, he is not giving a good image. However, the fact he was pulling down the shutters kind of gives it away that he was 'shutting up shop' for the day.
What do you think the response at Halfords would have been if they were pulling down the shutters when you turned up? I can pretty much guarantee they would say they were shut, tills were off, end of. Can't say how they would've phrased it, but there is very little (if any) flexibility with large retailers in this sense once closing time comes.
If the bloke was rude, fair play to you for walking away, but if he was just saying 'be quick' considering he was in the middle of closing, he was being reasonable giving you the chance to pop in and get the stuff you wanted imo.
What do you think the response at Halfords would have been if they were pulling down the shutters when you turned up? I can pretty much guarantee they would say they were shut, tills were off, end of. Can't say how they would've phrased it, but there is very little (if any) flexibility with large retailers in this sense once closing time comes.
If the bloke was rude, fair play to you for walking away, but if he was just saying 'be quick' considering he was in the middle of closing, he was being reasonable giving you the chance to pop in and get the stuff you wanted imo.
22 June 2013, 09:02 AM
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22 June 2013, 09:12 AM
#21
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I went to the local (small business) cycle shop just before 5pm, the guy was pulling shutters down. I asked if they were still open to which he replied "if you hurry up". I responded with very clear "go **** yourself" and when to Halfauds. I spent £60 on the bits I needed (for that evening) and will not be returning to that shop.
22 June 2013, 09:50 AM
#22
22 June 2013, 10:00 AM
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Tbh all it would have taken was for the O/P to have explained himself a lil better and it may well have panned out different.
22 June 2013, 10:41 AM
#25
No he was rude, he was aggressive and he was making it very clear I was putting him out. Had he said, sorry mate I've got to close or can you be quick I've got to go, then I would have gone out of my way to get in and out.
He didn't know if I wanted a bike or a seat, but the potential for a sale, should of driven him to be polite, if not to keep the shop open. It was 4:50pm and the shop shut at 5pm. (in theory)
A lot of businesses are closing down because of the likes of Halfauds and personally, I'm not a fan of the big chains (pun).
He didn't know if I wanted a bike or a seat, but the potential for a sale, should of driven him to be polite, if not to keep the shop open. It was 4:50pm and the shop shut at 5pm. (in theory)
A lot of businesses are closing down because of the likes of Halfauds and personally, I'm not a fan of the big chains (pun).
24 June 2013, 05:18 PM
#26
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The Longbridge syndrome is well and truly out there,No we're closed,bugger off,i ain't doing that now mate,i'm going home,can't be arsed,time for another tea break...
24 June 2013, 06:26 PM
#28
I disagree with some of these comments.
My farm is open 8am-5pm and this is what I tell all my private customers who come for eggs, chickens, chicken feed, wood shavings, etc. I know must of all my customers by first name and if they want an order, they usually either text me or leave a message on my answer phone and I usually reply/respond back on all occasions within an hour to get their order ready for them to pick up either on the day or the following day.
I used to be pretty slack with the opening and closing times but I got to the stage where I was fed up of putting myself out there and rearranging my social/closing hours around the lives of other people.
Sometimes I will get somebody texting me at 6pm wanting to come out to the farm at 8pm to pick up say 80 dozen eggs.
Another time I'll get somebody turning up at 7pm and wanting me to load 20 bags of chicken feed (25kg each) into their truck.
Or sometimes I'll have somebody waiting outside the farm gates at 7:30am wanting their eggs.
I've had someone ring me up at 10:30pm on a Saturday night wanting to place an order of 30 chickens. FFS, where's the respect?
I've thought to myself, enough is enough and I am now firm with my opening and closing times. I do my best to please all customers but sometimes it goes too far and after a hard days work, sometimes I just want to lock up the gates at 5pm, enable the alarms, and go home.
People seem to think that it must be difference for me because I live on the farm. Well what happens when I move out of my parents house into a potential new agricultures house down the road? I do not want to be driving down the road, open up the gates, disable the alarm, and serve a customer at 5:05pm after I've got home.
However, I have still had a couple of people turning up just after I lock up and I do serve them, but I make it very clear to them that they need to be here within 8am-5pm in future.
Whether it be 5 minutes after closure or 3 hours, it makes no difference to me. People need to be there on time and within the opening/closing times otherwise it just takes the p!ss.
My farm is open 8am-5pm and this is what I tell all my private customers who come for eggs, chickens, chicken feed, wood shavings, etc. I know must of all my customers by first name and if they want an order, they usually either text me or leave a message on my answer phone and I usually reply/respond back on all occasions within an hour to get their order ready for them to pick up either on the day or the following day.
I used to be pretty slack with the opening and closing times but I got to the stage where I was fed up of putting myself out there and rearranging my social/closing hours around the lives of other people.
Sometimes I will get somebody texting me at 6pm wanting to come out to the farm at 8pm to pick up say 80 dozen eggs.
Another time I'll get somebody turning up at 7pm and wanting me to load 20 bags of chicken feed (25kg each) into their truck.
Or sometimes I'll have somebody waiting outside the farm gates at 7:30am wanting their eggs.
I've had someone ring me up at 10:30pm on a Saturday night wanting to place an order of 30 chickens. FFS, where's the respect?
I've thought to myself, enough is enough and I am now firm with my opening and closing times. I do my best to please all customers but sometimes it goes too far and after a hard days work, sometimes I just want to lock up the gates at 5pm, enable the alarms, and go home.
People seem to think that it must be difference for me because I live on the farm. Well what happens when I move out of my parents house into a potential new agricultures house down the road? I do not want to be driving down the road, open up the gates, disable the alarm, and serve a customer at 5:05pm after I've got home.
However, I have still had a couple of people turning up just after I lock up and I do serve them, but I make it very clear to them that they need to be here within 8am-5pm in future.
Whether it be 5 minutes after closure or 3 hours, it makes no difference to me. People need to be there on time and within the opening/closing times otherwise it just takes the p!ss.
Last edited by LSherratt; 24 June 2013 at 06:34 PM.
24 June 2013, 06:30 PM
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I was trying to buy a Raspberry pi today with various accessories and peripherals. My first point of call was maplin online as I used to buy loads of cr@p from maplin, but their website is rubbish, and they have less products line than amazon in the specific area in question, plus they seem more expensive.
So I got it all through amazon even though one item was from maplin but through amazon (the latter no doubt taking a generous slide of maplin's profit). Maplin must surely be heading for a big fall as they are inferior than amazon in all ways from what I can see, except for some very specialist stuff like connectors and electrical components, etc.
Amazon are good because I know where I stand with them re cancelations and returns. They are reliable, I trust them. Downside is they are turning the rest of the retail landscape into a desert.
24 June 2013, 06:32 PM
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It's not rocket science for Retail. They need to play to the advantages of Physical shopping:
1) You can try things out and hold something tangible when shopping in the real world. This is really important with certain types of product. Shops need to be conducive with this.
2) You can speak to another human being: if they're friendly and knowledgeable then in conjunction perk one, you can convince someone to buy who would have just browsed on the net! Proper staff training and not employing people with no social skills goes a long way in this respect.
3) You can have something to take home now. Shops should keep decent stock levels. If someone can't take it away then, chances are they'll just order it on-line and get it cheaper.
1) You can try things out and hold something tangible when shopping in the real world. This is really important with certain types of product. Shops need to be conducive with this.
2) You can speak to another human being: if they're friendly and knowledgeable then in conjunction perk one, you can convince someone to buy who would have just browsed on the net! Proper staff training and not employing people with no social skills goes a long way in this respect.
3) You can have something to take home now. Shops should keep decent stock levels. If someone can't take it away then, chances are they'll just order it on-line and get it cheaper.